Resources for Parents of Kids With Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAbout ODDAfter DiagnosisSchoolingDisciplineTreatmentCopingGetting HelpResourcesSupport

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

About ODD

After Diagnosis

Schooling

Discipline

Treatment

Coping

Getting Help

Resources

Support

Close

That’s why we wanted to provide a more complete group of resources for learning more, addressing specific behaviors, and getting support so you can best help your child with ODD. Let’s begin with some basic information about this condition and how it’s managed.

About Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Oppositional defiant disorder is a mental health disorder in which a child demonstrates aggression and purposeful misbehavior. Thought to affect between 3% and 5% of children, this behavior disorder is more common in boys than in girls.

ODD Symptoms

ODD involves a pattern of defiance, negativity, and hostility which is essentially constant and can create significant dysfunction at both home and school. Symptoms associated with oppositional defiant disorder include:

ODD symptoms can vary from mild to severe and usually arise during achild’s preschool years, though they can also appear in adolescence.

It’s important to realize that many children without this condition exhibit some ODD behaviors from time to time. An ODD diagnosis is not made until these behaviors have been ongoing for at least 6 months.

5 Signs Your Child’s Behavior Is Out of Control

ODD Causes

ODD canand does develop in children from loving and stable families. However, it’s not uncommon for children with this condition to come from adysfunctional home lifeor be exposed to violence.

Conditions Co-Occurring With ODD

Oppositional defiant disorder may co-occur with other conditions, such as:

Sometimes it takes time to distinguish between ODD and other common behavioral disorders in children, such as ADHD andconduct disorder.

What to Do After an ODD Diagnosis

When your child is first diagnosed with ODD, it’s helpful to learn as much as you can about the disorder. Not only will this help you develop methods for coping with the behaviors, but it can also be reassuring to learn that a majority of children (two-thirds) outgrow it.Knowing this alone may give you more strength to cope with difficult behaviors today.

Find a Parenting Program

Parenting programs can be extremely helpful in getting you up-to-date on how to parent a child with ODD. Options include:

Find a Therapist

Depending on who diagnosed your child, you may need tofind a therapistwho can walk beside you as you learn tools for managing your child’s behavior. Therapy has been found to work well for children with ODD while reducing the chance that the condition will progress to conduct disorder later in childhood orantisocial personality disorderas an adult.

Ask your physician or therapist if they know anyone who specializes in treating children with ODD. Most commonly, this type of professional will be a child or adolescent psychiatrist, also known as apediatric psychiatrist.

If you haven’t seen your child’s pediatrician, this is an important first step as well. Some medical conditions can cause behaviors that could be mistaken for ODD, so a thorough exam is recommended.

How to Prepare Your Child’s School

If your child is in school, it’s important to meet with their teacher or others at the school who will be involved in their education. Combining a school-based program with therapy and positive parenting can help better manage ODD.

Special education services may help provide support and accommodations for your child. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that mandates that children with disabilities be provided with services to allow them to function in the school setting.

This usually requires that the ODD impairs their academic performance. You can request an evaluation for your child at any time. If your child does not qualify for IDEA (usually under the “other health impaired” category), they may still qualify for an individual accommodation plan underSection 504.

You may also wish to contact your school district, State Department of Education, or state Parent Training and Information Center for assistance.

Disciplining an ODD Child

How do you discipline a child with oppositional defiant disorder? Despite ample opportunities to give them negative attention, finding opportunities to provide positive attention instead can really help.

Even though negative consequences will likely be needed at times,positive attention is often more effective.Positive consequences seem to make negative consequences more effective when needed.

Avoiding harsh punishment and focusing on behaviors rather than the child is also helpful. The programs listed above can provide tips for working with a child with ODD.

Treatments for ODD

Treatment options found to be helpful for children with ODD include:

There are no medications designed to treat oppositional defiant disorder specifically. That said, medication may be recommended if the child experiences severe aggression or has otherco-occurring mental health disorders. Though, typically, therapy is effective on its own.

The 7 Best Online Therapy Programs for Kids

Living With a Child With ODD

Living with a child with oppositional defiant disorder can leave you on the edge and frustrated. It can be challenging to back up and view the behaviors as separate from your child and to stay calm.

Here are several tips for living with a child with ODD.

Getting Professional Help

Even if you follow all of the tips above for parenting a child with ODD, you may still feel overwhelmed. Take a moment to think aboutwhen you should seek helpfor your child’s behavior problems.

If your child’s behavior problems aren’t changing when you incorporate discipline strategies, if their behavior is interfering with school or their social life, or if their behavior is not age-appropriate, it’s likely time to seek help.

Helpful ODD Resources for Parents

There are lots of resources available to help parents manage their child’s ODD. Here are some places to start looking.

Websites

Websites that offer additional information and ideas for parents who have a child with ODD include:

As noted earlier, ODD often co-exists with other disorders such as ADHD. At times, the management of ODD is similar to that of ADHD but, at other times, it’s important to distinguish between the two diagnoses. These sites focused on ADHD may offer assistance when your child has ODD as a co-existing condition:

Podcasts

If you like listening to podcasts, here are a few episodes to add to your playlist as they discuss ODD:

Books

There are also entire books devoted to helping parents cope with and care for a child with ODD. Books that may be helpful include:

Support for Parents of Children With ODD

Having the opportunity totalk with other parentsliving with a child with ODD can be priceless. No matter how thoughtful and understanding your family and friends are, there is something special about talking with others facing the same challenges.

In addition toemotional support, online support communities can help you learn about the latest findings and approaches to managing ODD. After all, there is nobody more motivated to understand the day-to-day life of a child with ODD than other parents.

Online support groups allow you to get understanding and advice from other parents around the world. There are a number of other online groups as well, such as Facebook groups designed to connect parents who are living with a child who has ODD.

Takeaways

Learning that your child has ODD can release a mass of mixed emotions. You may be relieved to finally have a diagnosis for your child’s behavior, but at the same time fear what this means for the future.

As parents, an ODD diagnosis can also make you question your parenting skills. Yet, asense of guilt and shameis counterproductive to learning how to meet your child’s needs. There are many children raised in warm and loving family environments who nonetheless are diagnosed with ODD.

Once you have a diagnosis you can finally begin to address your child’s behaviors. Talk to your physician. Find a good child or adolescent psychiatrist. Become involved in support groups. Rest just a bit in the realization that a majority of children “outgrow” these behaviors. That said, therapy can go a long way in reducing the chance your child’s behaviors will persist.

Explore the tips above, and use the resources and links provided to educate and empower yourself as a parent of a child with ODD. You’ve got this, and we’ve got you.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hawes DJ, Gardner F, Dadds MR, et al.Oppositional defiant disorder.Nat Rev. 2023;9:31. doi:10.1038/s41572-023-00441-6Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.DSM-5 changes: Implications for child serious emotional disturbance [Internet].Riley M, Ahmed S, Locke A.Common questions about oppositional defiant disorder.Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(7):586-591.Ghosh A, Ray A, Basu A.Oppositional defiant disorder: current insight.Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2017;10:353-367. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S120582Cleveland Clinic.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Oppositional defiant disorder.Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.About IDEA.Laezer KL.Effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and behavioral therapy treatment in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.J Infant Child Adolesc Psychother. 2015;14(2):111-128. doi:10.1080/15289168.2015.1014991Cedars Sinai.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hawes DJ, Gardner F, Dadds MR, et al.Oppositional defiant disorder.Nat Rev. 2023;9:31. doi:10.1038/s41572-023-00441-6Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.DSM-5 changes: Implications for child serious emotional disturbance [Internet].Riley M, Ahmed S, Locke A.Common questions about oppositional defiant disorder.Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(7):586-591.Ghosh A, Ray A, Basu A.Oppositional defiant disorder: current insight.Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2017;10:353-367. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S120582Cleveland Clinic.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Oppositional defiant disorder.Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.About IDEA.Laezer KL.Effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and behavioral therapy treatment in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.J Infant Child Adolesc Psychother. 2015;14(2):111-128. doi:10.1080/15289168.2015.1014991Cedars Sinai.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Hawes DJ, Gardner F, Dadds MR, et al.Oppositional defiant disorder.Nat Rev. 2023;9:31. doi:10.1038/s41572-023-00441-6Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.DSM-5 changes: Implications for child serious emotional disturbance [Internet].Riley M, Ahmed S, Locke A.Common questions about oppositional defiant disorder.Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(7):586-591.Ghosh A, Ray A, Basu A.Oppositional defiant disorder: current insight.Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2017;10:353-367. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S120582Cleveland Clinic.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Oppositional defiant disorder.Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.About IDEA.Laezer KL.Effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and behavioral therapy treatment in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.J Infant Child Adolesc Psychother. 2015;14(2):111-128. doi:10.1080/15289168.2015.1014991Cedars Sinai.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children.

Hawes DJ, Gardner F, Dadds MR, et al.Oppositional defiant disorder.Nat Rev. 2023;9:31. doi:10.1038/s41572-023-00441-6

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.DSM-5 changes: Implications for child serious emotional disturbance [Internet].

Riley M, Ahmed S, Locke A.Common questions about oppositional defiant disorder.Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(7):586-591.

Ghosh A, Ray A, Basu A.Oppositional defiant disorder: current insight.Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2017;10:353-367. doi:10.2147/PRBM.S120582

Cleveland Clinic.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Oppositional defiant disorder.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.About IDEA.

Laezer KL.Effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and behavioral therapy treatment in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.J Infant Child Adolesc Psychother. 2015;14(2):111-128. doi:10.1080/15289168.2015.1014991

Cedars Sinai.Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children.

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